'DIY Snowmen Ornaments'

DIY Snowmen

Last minute decorating never came so easy with these do-it-yourself snowman ornaments. Enlist a few Santa’s little helpers (aka the kids) to do a share of the work.

Snowman Ornaments

What you will need:

• Foam snowballs with w/o glitter (one slightly larger than the rest to act as base)

• Glue

• One yard of fishing line per ornament

• Bamboo skewer

• Tape

• Scissors

• Jingle bells

• Googly eyes and brads

• Small buttons

• Toothpicks

• Felt scraps and brads

• Toothpick

• Acrylic paint

Here’s what you do:

1. Take a jingle bell and thread halfway onto the fishing line. The two ends of fishing line (with the jingle bell in the center) should be the same length.

2. Tape the two ends of the fishing line onto a bamboo skewer.

3. Take the skewer and push through the center of the larger snowball and out the top. The jingle bell should serve as the anchor on the bottom. Skewer the two smaller snowballs to serve as the body and head in the same way.

4. Remove the ends of the fishing line from the top of the skewer and tie at the top of the snowman’s head. Please Note: This will serve as the ornament hook, so tie at desired length.

5. Use the felt to cut a round shape of a hat for the snowman. Use the toothpick to poke a hole through the center of the hat. Pull the knotted fishing line through the hole. Glue onto the snowman’s head.

6. Glue on the googly eyes and brads to create the snowman’s eyes, mouths, cheeks. Glue the buttons down the center of the snowman’s body.

7. Cut a toothpick in half and paint orange with the acrylic glue. Push through the foam to create the nose.

8. Cut a rectangular shape out of the felt to create the scarf. Don’t forget to cut fringe at the ends. Decorate with any of the brads or glitter if you’d like. Wrap the scarf around the snowman and use the glue to secure.

And now you are all set with your own DIY “bonhomme de neige” to grace your Christmas tree or to hang as decoration in your home.

-S. Gonzalez

*Photo courtesy of diynetwork.com

'DIY Ornaments'

The 6-foot Christmas tree - decked in white lights, silver and red ornaments, and a snowflake embellished tree skirt have now been ordered for the office.

With only 23 shopping days left, I expected a bit more savings in the online Christmas décor department and found little.

Then I realized that I already knew of some clever do-it-yourself ways to make ornaments from a feature I had read in Redbook Magazine, using household items and leftover remnants from Christmases long ago.

Not surprisingly, I found other DIY addicts that in years past have fashioned their own ornaments using variations of the similar technique.

Light as a Feather

What instantly caught my idea about this holiday decorating tip, is that I can make some use of the leftover peacock feathers from my Halloween costume (yes, I created my costume by adorning a metallic teal halter dress with rows of feathers and substituting a feather mask as my tail).

All you need are some clear glass ball ornaments – they can be other shapes too (i.e. teardrops and bulbs) as long as it’s clear. Fill the ornament with a feather and hang either by attaching a hook or ribbon. To create the illusion of snow, Younghouselove.com (above) coated the tops of the ornament with craft glue and then sprinkled glitter on top.

Redbook (photos shown up top) prominently featured the feather ornaments as a chandelier – suspended as a cluster from a hook in the ceiling. But a strand of garland, Christmas tree, or the fireplace work just as well!

Cookie-Cutter Tree

The last time I used cookie cutters in my parent’s house, I was 10-years-old and always in need of sugar cookies and brownies for bake sales and class parties. For now, the plastic shapes lie somewhere in my cupboard, collecting dust with the other unused baking supplies.

Well, not anymore.

Whip up a batch of cookie cutter ornaments by attaching some ribbon and dangling the cookie cutters from a doorway or on your kitchen wall. Even the harshest food critic will give you five stars.

Christmas Medley

We first learned how to reuse and recycle. Now everyone “thinks green.”

So before you throw out a bunch of your mismatched ornaments, think about how you might be able to recycle and exercise some green savvy.

Take your mishmash of ornaments and have the ornaments painted in a uniform color: white, green, red or any other shade that compliments your holiday setup. For those ornaments that cannot be so easily primed, spray painted and hung to dry – organize the leftover ornaments in a theme and display them in your home as a cohesive collection.

-S. Gonzalez

*Photos courtesy of Redbook magazine and www.younghouselove.com